Statistics Show Overall Crime in Park View Up

Public Safety is something I take very seriously, and while much of the work I do is directly with MPD and individual neighbors, there are times when a more public approach needs to be taken if we truly want to have safe communities. A recent effort that I would encourage neighbors to participate in is with the Park View UNC which held a public safety working group meeting on Saturday August 26th. At this meeting neighbors began listing the public safety challenges that our community faces and started the process of identifying which agencies (i.e. MPD, DCRA, DOH, DDOT, etc.) would need to be included to successfully address the community’s challenges. As an active participant in the meeting, I can report that it was one of the most productive meetings I have attended in some time. The next Park View UNC meeting will be at the rec center on Wednesday, September 6th, at 7 pm.

I do believe there is a lot neighbors can do to make their communities safer, especially if their elected representatives are working with them, supporting them, and helping to coordinate with all the people that are needed to solve the problems — both in the short- and long-term.

With all of this in mind, I regularly walk the neighborhood to report problems and look at the DC Crime Map to understand what the official statistics tell us about our community. Its a good way to report issues proactively and keep an eye on problem properties. In Park View, some of our challenges include vacant properties, entrenched drug dealing, and being split between the Third and Fourth Police Districts. Because of the latter I generally choose the location of 6th and Newton Place as an area close enough to the neighborhood boundaries to give me an idea of crime trends when using the Crime Map. Anyone can use the Crime Map to fine tune the data to their particular address.

In looking at 1,500 ft around 6th and Newton, for the past two month, the statistics show that crime is up by approximately 46% overall from the same period last year, with only thefts from autos and stolen autos going down. This, frankly, is unacceptable and leads me to some basic questions which include:

Does our neighborhood have the number of beat patrol officers needed?

How does the neighborhood being in two police districts impact the overall service?

How are plain clothes officers being deployed in the community?, and,

For deeply rooted social issues, do the behavior health people have the staff, resources, and authority to address addiction and homelessness issues? If not, will they ever?

In my opinion, the answer to these questions is an overall “No.” I believe PSA 409 could use more beat officers, the entire neighborhood should be in one Police District, and I would like to see a stronger relationship between our plain clothes officers and the community. Lastly, while I value the work of our government partners who focus on the social challenges in our neighborhoods, I don’t believe they are staffed at the levels they need or that they have the authority they need to really solve deep rooted problems.

I’ve included the chart below showing the crime stats for the last two months compared to the same period last year highlighting the areas with the largest jumps — those being robbery with gun, burglary, and theft. I’ve also included the map on where the incidents were recorded.

I dont know where you are pulling your stats from, but this just isnt true. Violent crime is down significantly city-wide, to include 3 and 4D. The overall crime rate in Park View is the lowest (or close to it) that its been in years. I understand that the shootings, drug dealing and other incidents are not something we want to live with, but lets keep in mind that overall progress is still being made…although not as fast as we might like.

I believe this is true. It is possible that crime is going down in the city, but up in areas of the city. I have long suspected this because every time I walk on Georgia Avenue I feel like crime is at 2005 levels again. I avoid Columbia Heights Plaza and 14th at all cost because its just full of crazy aggressive people.

Haha…oh course, you have proof of this, right? Do you work for the department? So the fact that crime is down over 20% over the last decade, despite the population rising over 20% during the same time frame is attributed to “juking the stats”? Avoiding an area cause you dont feel comfortable for “feeling” crime is at 2005 levels does not mean crime is up.

These “statistics” are taken from a selective sample size and location to prove the point the website is trying to make. THAT is juking the stats. But than you for the insider tip on how MPD does things. I am sure you actually know that and arent making it up.

I am incredibly disappointed by this post. Two months is not a sufficient sample size to claim that there is any type of increase. Crime can fluctuate pretty dramatically month to month, especially when you are dealing with sample sizes of 1 compared to 3. If you zoom out a little bit and look at the exact same geographic region for YTD 2017 vs. the same time period in 2016, you see that violent crime is down from 40 incidents to 28. Total crime is up a little over the same time period, due almost entirely to an increase in thefts. It’s this type of limited analysis that results in bad policy and over-investment in “solutions” that do not actually prevent crime from happening in the first place. If you want to discuss, please reach out. ~ A disappointed 11 year Pleasant Plains resident.